Drop C# question

Brass Brawls · #1 04-29-2010, 01:51 AM

What would be the ideal gauge for Drop C#
would .105 bottom string work?

JeanBG · #2 04-29-2010, 01:55 AM

It would work, but it won't be ideal. I would recommend a .110 or .115

ourworldisgrey · #3 04-29-2010, 02:16 AM

I would say .110 would be about right. I've used Ernie Ball Power slinkys when I played in Drop D and there was a little bit too much tension (IMHO). For Drop C# they seem like a good Idea to me.

knuckle_head · #4 04-29-2010, 07:43 AM

.115 to .118, IMO.

PJMiDi · #5 04-29-2010, 07:48 AM

.110 IMO, i use .105 for drop D. Dont know if you'd need to go all the way to .115 but I doubt it would hurt.

62Jazzbass · #6 04-29-2010, 08:01 AM

For G_D's sake buy a five string bass and be done with it!

Or, if you really can't swing that, buy a very light set of strings for a fiver and string it with the bottom 4, in other words, you lose your "G" string (which I assume would be tuned to A in your setup).

A 105 tuned to D is really quite floppy, going down even more I can't imagine, and doing it across all strings.......what a mess.

NicJimBass · #7 04-29-2010, 08:03 AM

Recently went with a set of Heavy GHS Boomers that has a .115 E, and it is amazing.

rockstarbassist · #8 04-29-2010, 08:14 AM

I've played in C#/Db with a .105 for years an no issues. Just as long as you have it setup correctly. My main Spector is kept in Eb and I drop it down to C# a lot and have no intonation or rattle/buzz issues at all.

Lckednloaded · #9 04-29-2010, 08:16 AM

"Just buy a 5 string and be done with it" well lets see if he did that he would still have to tune it down to match the tuning of the guitars he is most likely playing with or to play the songs he is wanting to play that are written in that. Then he would have an extra string he probably wont play and a bass he doesn't need. I don't understand why some of you 5'ers dont get that. If he was asking what size string to use to drop his bass to B then your point is relevant. Many guitar players dont want to play 7 string guitars but drop the tuning of their guitars because they want a heavier sound. The bass does the same to keep up. You cannot play everything a guitar tuned in C# can play on a 5 string bass tuned standard. Lets tell every guitar player that drops his guitar to D to buy a 7 string and see how much it annoys them.

.110 works well for me in C# but I also have to bump it up to Eb for some of our songs so a .115 would be a little too much for me. If you are going to play strictly in C# you might try both gauges then have your guitar set up for that tuning and that gauge string. This is my humble opinion.

rockstarbassist · #10 04-29-2010, 08:23 AM

^^^

Just ignore the ignorant who think a 5'er "covers all drop tunings, zomg!!?" It's usually people who are too lazy to learn songs correctly as written and just fly by the seat of their pants just enough to get "by" and "fake it" for the audience. And yes, this is a correct assertion as I see it all the time. If i wanted or had to take the time to learn a song, why would I only half-ass it?

I'll add though that anything under C# I go to .110 or higher.

barbe-et-hache · #11 04-29-2010, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lckednloaded

"Just buy a 5 string and be done with it" well lets see if he did that he would still have to tune it down to match the tuning of the guitars he is most likely playing with or to play the songs he is wanting to play that are written in that. Then he would have an extra string he probably wont play and a bass he doesn't need. I don't understand why some of you 5'ers dont get that.

+1

I have a five string and I downtuned it to match with the guitar, Some riffs are (almost) unplayable in BEADG despite the note are available.

loend68 · #12 04-29-2010, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockstarbassist

I've played in C#/Db with a .105 for years an no issues. Just as long as you have it setup correctly. My main Spector is kept in Eb and I drop it down to C# a lot and have no intonation or rattle/buzz issues at all.

This ^^^^

But if you were staying in drop C# you might want to go a .110...

rockstarbassist · #13 04-29-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loend68

This ^^^^

But if you were staying in drop C# you might want to go a .110...

Yep, my Charvel is kept in drop C and I've got a set of .110 LoRiders on it, and sounds great.

rockstarbassist · #14 04-29-2010, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62Jazzbass

For G_D's sake buy a five string bass and be done with it!

Or, if you really can't swing that, buy a very light set of strings for a fiver and string it with the bottom 4, in other words, you lose your "G" string (which I assume would be tuned to A in your setup).

A 105 tuned to D is really quite floppy, going down even more I can't imagine, and doing it across all strings.......what a mess.

What bass do you play where your D string is so floppy it's unplayable? Hell my old Peavey Milestone could swing drop D and that was $189 new and never had a setup! Lol

erigod23 · #15 04-29-2010, 08:56 AM

Real men play 4 string basses.

interstatejoe · #16 04-29-2010, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62Jazzbass

For G_D's sake buy a five string bass and be done with it!

Or, if you really can't swing that, buy a very light set of strings for a fiver and string it with the bottom 4, in other words, you lose your "G" string (which I assume would be tuned to A in your setup).

A 105 tuned to D is really quite floppy, going down even more I can't imagine, and doing it across all strings.......what a mess.

This is just a crappy response in general. The OP wasn't asking for advice on 5 strings and there's simply no reason to buy a 5 string set and toss the G string...that's just plain wasteful.

To the OP: Like a few others have stated, something in the .110-.118 range should be your best bet. One of my Spector 4 bangers has been strung up with GHS Bass Boomers 55/70/95/115 for years, another with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys 55/75/90/110. Both have been properly setup for Drop C tuning and both are amazing to play. Good tension, no floppyness on the low C at all.

62Jazzbass · #17 04-29-2010, 09:58 AM

Well didn't I stir up a hornets nest. To clarify a few things:

1st - I play a 4 string, always.

2nd - Never said a 105 E is unplayable tuned to D, but it is quite floppy IMHO, but I am picky. I play with a guy tuned to Eb, and went to a heavier set of strings for a while to compensate. I have since gone the other way and have a lighter set (100 E) and simply improved my right hand technique. I'd still prefer to be tuned to E though.

3rd - Re: "he would still have to tune it down to match the tuning of the guitars" - No he wouldn't, he would have all the notes available to him that they have, although in different positions. Have another bong hit, dude, and think about it.

4th - "Some riffs are (almost) unplayable in BEADG despite the [fact that the] note[s] are available." – Now I take that as a valid point, a point one of the other guys was trying to make, I think, however inarticulately. I had not considered this because the music that is usually associated with these lowered tunings is simply not my bag, so I have no reference point here. “Technically” a five would cover it, but it could suck balls. I’ll defer to those who know the demands of the style of music in question.

In general though, you guys should lighten the eff up. I offered an [ill informed] opinion. It could have been pointed out, intelligently and rationally that it was bad advice. That’s how we all learn, the OP, myself, and perhaps others reading this who maybe thought as I did, or simply did not know.

Not sure why so many seemed to actually take offense. Maybe you all should smoke up and chill a bit.

Brass Brawls · #18 04-29-2010, 10:20 AM

ya def don't have the $cratch to go buy a 5er, i love the sound of the EB Slinkys on my Sterling, i think i'll get it set up with .110 try those and go from there....thanks

Lckednloaded · #19 04-29-2010, 11:09 AM

I resent your remark telling me to take another "bong hit" I live a pure life free from even caffeine. I assure you my mind is clear.
Let me rephrase, it is a billion times easier to just go to the same tuning as you did state. An ill informed opinion on a subject delivered in a way as to not offend is, in my opinion, just an opinion. When phrased as you did, implying it is ridiculous to tune down, then it is offensive. Now you have made a snap judgement on many people implying that our opinions don't line up with yours because we are high.

62Jazzbass · #20 04-29-2010, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lckednloaded

When phrased as you did, implying it is ridiculous to tune down, then it is offensive.

I never impied that, tune to whatever you like.

What I implied was.......hell, what I was suggesting was, that tuning a string to C# when it has been designed to be tuned to E more or less is a bad idea.

I actually still stand by that. IMHO, anything lower than an Eb on a 105 is a significant compromise in playability (think back to Billy Sheehan's custom set of Roto's - done because he used drop D regularly).

The fact that some do it and get by, or even like it, is not the point. From a design/engineering perspective, it's a compromise.

Those that suggested a 110 or even 115 were on the mark. I was off the mark with the fiver suggestion, due to my ignorance of the demands of the style of music.

The end.